Vending machine



March 9, 1948.

R. T. WRIGHT VENDING MACHINE Filed July l8, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet l March 9, 1948; RI H 2,437,311

VENDING MACHiNE Filed July 18, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 fli-forzzey R. T. WRIGHT VENDING MACHINE Filed July 18, 1945 March 9, 1948.

' 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 March 9, 1948.

R. T. WRIGHT VENDING MACHINE Filed July 18, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ZZa xra [MG/ 7%; i V14 5AM" A TTOR/VEY' I5. This connection includes a link I6, connected to the plate or lever I I, a lever I'I connected with the link I6, and a bar I8. The bar I8 is connected with the plunger I by means which are not shown in detail but which preferably include coin or check controlled apparatus,

which may be any one of many devices known in the art. It will be understood, however, that by pulling the plunger I5 the pawl I2 and its assembly may be moved back and forth.

During times of rest the magazines are locked in position by the latch I3 engaging in a notch I I. Means are provided for releasing the latch I3 incident to movement of the pawl. This means includes a cam I9 mounted on the pawl plate I4 and moving with the pawl, and a lever 20 engaging the latch I3. Here the connection between the lever 20 and the latch I3 is made by passing an end 28a of the lever through a hole I3a in the latch. The lever 20 is a lever of the first class pivoted on an appropriate cross member 2I of the frame, and has a lug 22 for engagement by the cam I9.

Fig. 8 illustrates the position of the actuating mechanism at the beginning of the stroke. The initial part of the stroke serves to disengage the latch I3. Rearward movement of the pawl assembly, including its plate I 4 and the cam I9 (from the position shown in Fig. 8 to the position shown in Fig. 9) brings the upper surface of the cam I9 into engagement with the lug 22 forcing it upward and the opposite end of the lever 20 downward, to lower the latch I3 out of engagement with the notch I I. The pawl I2 has by this time reached and engaged a notch II the same being moved into engagement therewith by a spring I2a, and the apparatus is in the position shown in Fig. 9. Further movementof the pawl assembly will rotate the magazines. As soon as the cam I9 is past the lug 22, as it is about to be in the position shown in Fig. 9, the latch I8 will be released and will return upwardly under the influence of a spring 23, attached to the outer end of the lever 20, and rest against the lower edge of the flange I 0 until the next notch II reaches it, at which time it will spring into latching position.

The cam I9 is pivotally supported so that on the return stroke it will ride over the lug 22, as shown in Fig. 7.

A spring 24 is attached between the plate I 4 and a member of the frame I, and performs the return stroke of the pawl assembly.

It will now be understood that upon pulling the plunger I5, the pawl assembly will be advanced first to lower the latch I3 by action of the cam I 9 against the lug 22, and then, by the pawl I2 engaging in a notch I I, to advance the magazines one step until the latch engages in a succeeding notch and stops the movement; whereupon the spring 24 causes the return movement of the pawl assembly.

Means are provided'for manually releasing the latch and the pawl, so that the magazines may be turned freely as is desired in loading or servicmg the magazines. This includes a plunger 30 connected to a lever 31, which has a cam 32 positioned to engage aprojection 33 on the latch I3. Thus when the plunger 30 is pulled the cam 32 slides over the projection 33 to depress the latch I3. An arm 34 is fastened to'the outer end of the latch I3 and is so positioned that it willengage and depressthe pivoted pawl I 2. Thus when the lever 30 is pulled out the latch'and the pawl are disengaged and held disengaged from the flange I0, permitting the magazines to be freely rotated.

As previously explained, each of the magazines 3 and 4 includes a series of radially disposed compartments so arranged that each compartment as specifically shown holds three bottles. Thus the magazine has a capacity to carry three annular rows of bottles. While the compartments are disposed generally radially about the axis of the magazine, they are curved rearwardly with reference to the direction of operational rotation. The sides of the compartments are formed by plates 35 which are secured to the bottom Illa of the magazine and'to a ring-like member 35a (see Figs., 3 and 10) supported on the said bottom and the ends are curved straps 36. These plates are notched at 35b to permit a bottle positioning lug, later to be described, to pass the ends thereof. The bottom of each compartment comprises the bar 'I which slants downwardly towards the periphery of the magazine. The arrangement of the bar I, which is passed through and secured to the member 35a and to the bottom Illa, is such that it supports the inner and intermediate bottle and supports the outer bottle when in a slanting position. But it is so arranged with reference to the outer portion of the compartment that a space is provided to the rear of the bar sufficient to permit the discharge of a bottle therethrough when the bottom of the bottle is shoved off the bar I. It has already been explained that a bottle in the outer row is shoved oil the bar I by the lug 8 as the magazine is rotated step by step.

The construction of the magazines and their compartments is such that when a bottle is discharged the other bottles in the compartment will, under favorable conditions and due to the slope of the bar 'I and centrifugal force, move outwardly. Nevertheless means are provided to positively move the bottles outwardly as the magazine is rotated. An overhanging arm 31 is adapted to engage the shoulder of the intermediate bottle immediately after the outer bottle has been discharged and push said intermediate bottle outwardly, While a lug 38 is positioned to engage'the bottom of the inner bottle and push it outwardly at about the same time or immediately following.

To assist in the smooth operation of the device the head of the intermediate bottle is engaged by a support or rail 39 whichsupports the head of that bottle while the outer bottle is being discharged.

The action in the movement of the bottles is illustrated in Figs. 10, 13, 14 and 15.

Fig. 10 is an elevational view which shows the lug 8 engaging the bottom of the bottle at the same time that the head of the intermediate bottle is supported by the rail 39, and as the arm 31 is engagin the shoulder of the intermediate bottle and just as the log 38 is engaging the bottom of the inner bottle.

Fig. 13 shows the arrangement of the bottles as a compartmentis approaching the delivery station. i

Fig. 14 is a .plan viewfof the bottles in approximately the same position as Fig. 10. Here the lug 8 is engaging the bottomof the outer bottle and about to'pus'h it ofi the support "I, while the head of the intermediate bottle is supported by the rail 39 and the arm 31 is engaging the shoulder of the intermediate bottle. The inner-bottle is approaching and about to engage the lug38.

In Fig. 15 the bottle which was in the inter- 5; megiiategnpsitionzthasanew assumeat minim-1&1; thawutez end;o;theac mnartmentcaad;mama

3.8 hasishoveda heanemaln hg bottlat oathe z ntmtr mediatempsition Itmw a understand that athte max rev xhationL' 1n bh:b t e:Wi11 be, dBQhfilEfidflEdtDPiih following; rcvolll-ti n; th la t ttl w ll e iahargedfromthemamhartmcnt- It will baunderstood f o xt thatt e d yi a which have:beenzdesmr masap n ti s :ama .0;

azinefare-rgrovided segarately for; each magazine; and 4*. The; bottles discharged; from the, t9 ma zine 3.- nass. thro g the t b lar 1 1 1381 nd then into a lower chute 40 which ha wan elg a douth anctin w cht ab ttlesi rom the 15 a n s am i har gd; ire t y; chute-Mkdischargps throu h-ya. convenient outlet or; (1001241 'in,;th e,cab1fne,t., Moreover,- tha dgyiga is; ar-ranggd t0 v successively discharge; the, gggqg;

tha verti al iali glm n z f t e; WQ;m a .nes-and-' thetv ltiaalt-ali hment f.:th dugsja seam ll): amqsuchthat .at onefitep in themavemqn Q; ha. m gazine's thQzfiQE u 8 will 'i lqd e" aibat g.

og -thaa h 4 mi usinelui or m ma M a e yix a a --axiea n amna -t fi ts f mtthetonma azine and t he n x i eptha ,5

bnttoml u g 81wi11v.dis od e; a bo t a-fmm heibqta tom magazin nceit, is des rablezta isaharaa battles v fmm the two; magazines at i slightly d; 1 ferenttpqints onerinto thechutafl and thegojihgg into, th lowen chute aa asdescribed; the twq 3g.

magazines ate. slightly; outof alignment; to neg; mi t h ir di harg on. li ht y difierent; v yt aal lines But: thev tw -lugs 8 are also disfiligllfigkin the specific embodiment as shown.

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supportednnlacommonwra m wh ch; hin s! na v rt cal: axis; to: ahh t pn ate: memb ex i-cfs: tha f namef 1-. Herathe. hu e: 1. s; ttacha fip ha rack w zbrackatsn 5a; Thust ra hw th th s appuntenancesi ha mqv dr nti ely Qut; .5:

i; hawaxen; t e m az n s. 1'? t1): Kalied: or; otherwisetse rvicedn This. rac lg ig; helglgin; tion by a latch 53; When tha tah .31 1L5. 7131 6asedthema0knd. i ssambhi ma; baswun out ofn nsaain k ositmnt Then wheiitheiplun-gan 6Q 3 s p1 1e.d,, t e a ch- 3- nd: ha pawlt 2am disenga e r m, themagazines. Thanhthema at-zines may, be turned fqjeely, except for; the ihngal 111g 38; which engages the inner row of b Qt That lug 38,115: attached. to thabottqmof; a iv, otedjarm, which-is biased by. a spring Ma (Rig 2). The lu 38 has a cam surface 35a on itsiqf-t wardyside, so. that the. arm 44, will pivot a-ndythe lug 38 WilLbe pressed;outv of the,way by the inner;

bottles whentm a azines re. rotated a 69 cl ckwise ire tion or a direc on.- oppq te to; m, p ratipnal 011% The. ar angementdes rihad this pa a raph pmv-ides; far fzi atum ng Q the magazines? 01 loadingv but. 111... a d ectia cgunw totha oh LatimaL direction.

he. cahimatv i s: pmvisiedwi h; a dea 551 911- as; cess m that maaaa lnea 151s; also provided. with a disch gfi m mtev pusly meh -iqnad, anal with a tting 21' thmuah proieq s he .9

BIa iQnaIIhaIIGIQ-Or. plunger I 5. abinet is: -9. I:

o P o ided. with a fitting 5.2 or th w l, con; trolled. apparatus,

p c in th hqttam o tha abinet may 94% us in: a ne rigenatina Qil andaStmtagQSPaQQ to premq ngt h ttles,. whi' a. the e trema bottom arxaa g dt a x? dim dm hrmska SPA they severally contggg th ha tat ha h m zinu uta h? wa ag x a syw e1 mna h maga na h zaap a 41-. W t a: uai fip for ratat oa mam! a mm. ha a if: ra la la @s qhz: c mentsc 1f: rannqma x L .1 5- pg). by, that maaaziha aasz mmmawa plural t o co ent a w s; ta at lask a v cpmraarq ment h ng al-hattara pvmi g; nr il qna a aw t tm a a lysthe; Bath; Q th att fi -rwatu nsza a qannapaea o shgva ma h Qh' -qtat ng the eaihx tag tq. sjhgly and uccessively W -I.-1-:Q -n; h@ ma zine- 7 l V series of radially extending compartments surrounding its axis, each compartment being proportioned to contain a plurality of bottles whereby the magazine accommodates a plurality of concentric rows of bottles, each compartment having a partial bottom providing a provisional support so arranged that there is sufficient space rearwardly with respect to the direction of rotation to permit the discharge of bottles therethrough, a fixed lug in the path of the bottles in the outer row position and arranged to shove the bottles ofl the supports and thereby discharge them by permitting them to drop from the magazine as they severally contact the lug upon rotation of the magazine, the said provisional bottom sloping downward from axis to periphery thereby permitting the remaining bottles in a compartment to move outwardly along the bottom as the outer bottle is discharged, and means for rotating the magazine step by step to singly and successively discharge the bottles from the magazine.

5. A vending machine for bottled goods or the like including a magazine mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, said magazine having a series of radially extending compartments surrounding its axis, each compartment being proportioned to contain a plurality of bottles whereby the magazine accommodates a plurality of concentric rows of bottles, each compartment having a partial bottom providing a provisional support so arranged that there is sufficient space rearwardly with respect to the direction of rotation to permit the discharge of bottles therethrough, a fixed lug in the path of the bottles in the outer row positioned and arranged to shove the bottles off the supports and thereby discharge them by permitting them to drop from the magazine as they severally contact the lug upon rotation of the magazine, a fixed rail in the path of the bottles in the second row positioned to partially support a bottle whil the adjacent bottle in the outer row is being engaged by said fixed lug, and means for rotating the magazine step by step to singly and successively discharge the bottles from the magazine.

6. A vending machine for bottled goods or the like including a magazine mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, said magazine having a series of radially extending compartments surrounding its axis, each compartment being proportioned to contain a plurality of bottles whereby the magazine accommodates a plurality of concentric rows of bottles, each compartment having a partial bottom providing a provisional support so arranged that there is sufficient space rearwardly with respect to the direction of rotation to permit the discharge of bottles therethrough, a fixed lug in the path of the bottles in the outer row positioned and arranged to shove the bottles off the supports and thereby discharge them by permitting them to drop from the magazine as they severally contact the lug upon rotation of the magazine, a normally fixed member for engaging and moving a remaining bottle outwardly after the outer bottle in the same compartment is discharged, and means for rotating the magazine step by step to singly and successively discharge the bottles from the magazine. 7. A vending machine for bottled goods or the like including a vertical spindle, two magazines fixed on and rotated by the spindle, each magazine having a series of radially extending compartments surrounding the spindle, each compartment having side walls and a bottom support arranged with respect to said side walls to provide open spaces in the bottom of each com artment rearwardly of each support with respect to the direction of rotation of said magazines, said spaces being provided to permit the discharge of goods therethrough, fixed lugs respectively in the path of the goods in the compartments to shove the goods oif the supports and thereby discharge them by permitting them to drop through said spaces from the magazines as they contact the lugs upon rotation of the magazines, and means for rotating the magazines step by step to singly and successively discharge the goods from the magazines alternately.

8. A vending machine for bottled goods or the like including a magazine mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, said magazine having a series of radially extending compartments surrounding its axis, each compartment having side walls and a bottom support arranged with respect to said side walls to provide open spaces in the bottom of each compartment rearwardly of each support with respect to the direction of rotation of said magazine, said spaces being provided to permit the discharge of goods therethrough, a fixed lug in the path of the goods positioned and arranged to shove the goods ofi the supports and thereby discharge them by permitting them to drop through said spaces from the magazine as they severally contact the lug upon rotation of the magazine, and a ratchet and pawl for rotating the magazine step by step to singly and successively discharge the goods from the magazine.

9. A vending machine for bottled goods or the like including a magazine mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, said magazine having a series of radially extended compartments surrounding its axis, each compartment having side walls and a bottom support arranged with respect to said side walls to provide open spaces in the bottom of each compartment rearwardly of each support with respect to the direction of rotation of said magazine, said spaces being provided to permit the discharge of goods therethrough, a normally fixed lug in the path of the goods positioned and arranged to shove the goods oil the supports and thereby discharge them by permitting them to drop through said spaces from the magazine as they severally contact the lug upon rotation of the magazine, means for rotating the magazine step by step to singly and successively discharge the goods from themagazine, and a hinged support for the lug permitting it to be moved out of engaging position so that the magazine may be turned Without discharging goods.

10. A vending machine for bottled goods or the like including a magazine mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, said magazine having a series of radially extending compartments surrounding its axis, each compartment being proportioned to contain a plurality of bottles Whereby the magazine accommodates a plurality of concentric rows of bottles, each compartment having a partial bottom providing a provisional support so arranged that there is sufficient space rearwardly with respect to the direction of rotation to permit the discharge of bottles therethrough, a lug normally fixed in the path of the bottles in the outer row positioned and arranged to shove the bottles off the bottoms and thereby discharge them from the magazine as they severally contact the lug upon rotation of the magazine, a device for moving said bottles along said provisional support normally fixed in a position to engage bottles in the second row, means for rotating the magazine step by step to singly and successively discharge the bottles from the magazine, and a hinged support for said device permitting it to be moved out of engaging position so that the magazine may be turned without interference from said device.

11. A vending machine for bottled goods or the like including a magazine mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, said magazine having a series of radially extending compartments surrounding its axis, each compartment being proportioned to contain a plurality of bottles whereby the magazine accommodates a plurality of concentric rows of bottles, each compartment having a partial bottom providing a provisional support so arranged that there is sufilcient space rearwardly with respect to the direction of rotation to permit the discharge of bottles there through, a lug normally fixed in the path of the bottles in the outer row positioned and arranged to shove the bottles ofi the bottoms and thereby discharge them from the magazines as they severally contact the lug upon rotation of the magazine, a device for moving said bottles along said provisional support normally fixed in a position to engage bottles in the second row, means for rotating the magazines step by step to singly and successively discharge the bottles from the magazine, and a hinged support carrying said lug and said device permitting them to be moved 10 out of engaging position so that the magazine may be turned without interference from them.

12. In a vending machine for bottles goods or the like having a magazine mounted for rotation about a vertical axis, means for rotating the magazine step by step to singly and successively discharge goods from the said magazine comprising a ratchet fixed to rotate with said magazine, a latch engagable with said ratchet to hold said magazine against rotation, a spring biased, cam operated lever' for releasing said latch and a spring biased pawl engagable with said ratchet for rotating said magazine, said lever and said pawl being movable to perform their desired functions by a coin controlled manually operated plunger.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12 including means for holding said latch and said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet whereby said magazine may be rotated freely.

ROLAND 'T. WRIGHT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 860,689 Parker July 23, 1907 2,272,859 Wilsey Feb. 10, 1942 2,290,275 Childers July 21, 1942 2,338,335 King Jan. 4, 1944 

